Missouri State Police Think You And I Are Terrorists

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Thanks to a concerned Missouri
state policeman, a nationally syndicated radio talk show
host stated that he was alerted last week to a secret
Missouri state police report that categorized supporters
of Congressman Ron Paul, Bob Barr, and myself as"`militia`
influenced terrorists." The report, he said,"instructs the Missouri police to be on the lookout for supporters
displaying bumper stickers and other paraphernalia
associated with the Constitutional, Campaign for
Liberty, and Libertarian parties."

This report is not original, of
course. During the Clinton administration, a Phoenix
Federal Bureau of Investigation and Joint Terrorism Task
Force
explicitly designated "defenders"
of the Constitution as"right-wing
extremists." However, the MIAC report significantly
expands on earlier documents and is the first known
document to actually name names.

According to the MIAC, opposition
to world government, NAFTA, federalization of the
states, and restrictive gun laws are a potential threat
to the police. The MIAC report also refers to Aaron
Russo`s film,
"America: Freedom to Fascism."

The story exposing the MIAC report
states, "The MIAC
report is particularly pernicious because it
indoctrinates Missouri law enforcement in the belief
that people who oppose confiscatory taxation, believe in
the well-documented existence of a New World Order and
world government (a Google search of this phrase will
pull up numerous references made by scores of
establishment political leaders), and are opposed to the
obvious expansion of the federal government at the
expense of the states as violent extremists who are
gunning for the police. It specifically targets
supporters of mainstream political candidates and
encourages police officers to consider them dangerous
terrorists."

The Columbia Daily Tribune also
carried the story last Saturday. It quoted Missouri
resident Tim Neal of Miller County."When Neal read
the report, he couldn`t help but think it described him.
A military veteran and a delegate to the 2008 Missouri
Republican state convention, he didn`t appreciate being
lumped in with groups like the Neo-Nazis.

"`I was going
down the list and thinking, "Check, that`s me,"` he
said. `I`m a Ron Paul supporter, check. I talk about the
North American union, check. I`ve got the "America:
Freedom to Fascism" video loaned out to somebody right
now. So that means I`m a domestic terrorist? Because
I`ve got a video about the Federal Reserve?`"

The Tribune`s report also
acknowledges, "The [MIAC] report`s most controversial passage states that militia
`most commonly associate with third-party political
groups` and support presidential candidates such as Ron
Paul, former Constitutional [sic] Party candidate Chuck
Baldwin and Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate last
year."

The Tribune report also said,"Neal, who has a Ron Paul bumper sticker on his car, said the next time
he is pulled over by a police officer, he won`t know
whether it`s because he was speeding or because of his
political views."

I realize that there are people who
will dismiss this kind of story as insignificant. They
shouldn`t. This is very serious and should be treated as
such. Anyone who knows anything at all about history
knows that before a state or national government can
persecute–and commit acts of violence against–a group
of people, they must first marginalize the group from
society`s mainstream and categorize it as dangerous.

Rome did exactly that to
Christians, as did Mao`s China; Hitler`s Germany did the
same thing to Jews; Stalin`s Russia did the same thing
to political dissenters, etc. That a State police agency
in America would actually infer that people who
supported Ron Paul, Bob Barr, or myself in a political
campaign are somehow indistinguishable from
violence-prone
"militias" is beyond insulting: it is a smear
campaign, and might should even be regarded as a hate
crime!

Beyond that, the MIAC report paints
with a very broad brush. In addition to supporting Ron
Paul, Bob Barr, or myself, a review of the report
reveals that opposition to any of the following risks
someone being classified as a potential"domestic
terrorist":

Again, if you oppose any of the
above, or if you supported Ron Paul, Bob Barr, or
myself, you risk being labeled a"domestic terrorist," according to the MIAC.

Do you not see how dangerous this
kind of slanderous labeling can become? It could affect
your flight status when you try to board an airline. It
could affect your application for sensitive jobs. It
could affect your adjudication before a court or judge.
It could make you a target for aggressive law
enforcement strategies. It could affect your being able
to obtain a passport. It could affect one`s ability to
purchase a firearm or receive a State concealed weapon
permit.

This is very serious business! We
are not talking about private opinions. We are talking
about law enforcement agencies. And remember, most law
enforcement agencies share these types of reports;
therefore, how many other state police agencies have
similar reports floating around? Probably several. Plus,
how do we know that this report was not influenced by
federal police agencies? We don`t.

Rest assured, I do not plan to take
this lying down. As one who is personally named in the
above report, I demand a public retraction and apology
from the MIAC and Missouri State Police. I can tell you
that my family is extremely distraught that their
husband, father, and grandfather would be labeled in
such a manner. I am also not ruling out legal action. In
addition, I am discussing an appropriate response with
Ron Paul and Bob Barr. I will keep readers posted as to
what comes of these discussions (as I am at liberty to
do so, of course).

In the meantime, I encourage
everyone who believes in the freedom of speech and who
believes that the MIAC report is an egregious
miscarriage of justice to contact the appropriate
Missouri police officials. Here is the contact
information:

And lest one thinks that none of
this concerns him or her, I would like to remind you of
the lament of
Martin Niemoeller back in the days of Hitler`s
Germany. Niemoeller was a decorated U-Boat Captain and
pastor of great distinction. An avid anti-communist,
Niemoeller at first supported Hitler`s rise to power and
was hesitant to oppose the violations of civil rights
against various groups he personally found distasteful.
It did not take long, however, before Niemoeller
realized that when laws protecting the rights of all
were removed from some, no one was safe–including him.
Unfortunately, he learned his lesson too late, as he,
too, was persecuted and imprisoned by Hitler`s State
Police. Here is what Niemoeller said about his
indifference:

"They came first
for the communists, and I did not speak up-

because I was not a communist;

And then they
came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak up-

because I was not a trade unionist;

And then they
came for the Jews, and I did not speak up-

because I was not a Jew;

And then they
came for me-

and there was no one left to speak up."

So, those of you who think you have
nothing to fear because you did not vote for Ron Paul,
Bob Barr, or me, or because you do not live in the State
of Missouri need to think again. As I have repeatedly
said, we either have freedom for all, or we have freedom
for none. Truly, secret police reports such as the one
above threaten the liberties of us all.

So, will you speak up now or wait
until they come for you and no one is left to speak up?

Dr. Chuck Baldwin is the
pastor of Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola,
Florida. He hosts a
weekly radio show. His
website is
here.